But what about kids who aren't "addicted" per se? Addiction aside, a much broader concern that begs awareness is the risk that screen time is creating subtle damage even in children with “regular” exposure, considering that the average child clocks in more than seven hours a day (Rideout 2010). As a practitioner, I observe that many of the children I see suffer from sensory overload, lack of restorative sleep, and a hyperaroused nervous system, regardless of diagnosis—what I call electronic screen syndrome. These children are impulsive, moody, and can’t pay attention—much like the description in the quote above describing damage seen in scans.

Although many parents have a nagging sense that they should do more to limit screen-time, they often question whether there’s enough evidence to justify yanking coveted devices, rationalize that it’s “part of our kids’ culture,” or worry that others—such as a spouse—will undermine their efforts. Digest the information below, even though it might feel uncomfortable, and arm yourself with the truth about the potential damage screen time is capable of imparting—particularly in a young, still-developing brain.

Brain scan research findings in screen addiction:

Gray matter atrophy: Multiple studies have shown atrophy (shrinkage or loss of tissue volume) in gray matter areas (where “processing” occurs) in internet/gaming addiction (Zhou 2011, Yuan 2011, Weng 2013,and Weng 2012). Areas affected included the important frontal lobe, which governs executive functions, such as planning, planning, prioritizing, organizing, and impulse control (“getting stuff done”). Volume loss was also seen in the striatum, which is involved in reward pathways and the suppression of socially unacceptable impulses. A finding of particular concern was damage to an area known is the insula, which is involved in our capacity to develop empathy and compassion for others and our ability to integrate physical signals with emotion. Aside from the obvious link to violent behavior, these skills dictate the depth and quality of personal relationships.

Compromised white matter integrity: Research has also demonstrated loss of integrity to the brain’s white matter (Lin 2012, Yuan 2011, Hong 2013 and Weng 2013). “Spotty” white matter translates into loss of communication within the brain, including connections to and from various lobes of the same hemisphere, links between the right and left hemispheres, and paths between higher (cognitive) and lower (emotional and survival) brain centers. White matter also connects networks from the brain to the body and vice versa. Interrupted connections may slow down signals, “short-circuit” them, or cause them to be erratic (“misfire”).

Reduced cortical thickness: Hong and colleagues found reduced cortical (the outermost part of the brain) thickness in internet-addicted teen boys (Hong 2013), and Yuan et al found reduced cortical thickness in the frontal lobe of online gaming addicts (late adolescent males and females) correlated with impairment of a cognitive task (Yuan 2013).

Cravings and impaired dopamine function: Research on video games have shown dopamine (implicated in reward processing and addiction) is released during gaming (Koepp 1998 and Kuhn 2011) and that craving or urges for gaming produces brain changes that are similar to drug cravings (Ko 2009, Han 2011). Other findings in internet addiction include reduced numbers of dopamine receptors and transporters (Kim 2011 and Hou 2012).

In short, excessive screen-time appears to impair brain structure and function. Much of the damage occurs in the brain’s frontal lobe, which undergoes massive changes from puberty until the mid-twenties. Frontal lobe development, in turn, largely determines success in every area of life—from sense of well-being to academic or career success to relationship skills. Use this research to strengthen your own parental position on screen management, and to convince others to do the same.

If you aim for 2 hours or less of screen-time a day you'll eliminate most or all of the the risk (assuming no other risk factors).

The more time you spend being screen-free the greater the investment in your brain--especially when you're young. I always suggest to people to do a 3-4 week electronic fast to reset the brain and to form new habits. Trying to simply "moderate" does not work in young people in my experience, without doing the fast first.

Aside from addiction, what I've noticed as a parent and teacher about kids who have a lot of screen time (particularly video games, but to some extent social media) is that they have a reduced ability to deal with the real world. Kids who are heroes performing superhuman athletic feats onscreen discover that real hills are actually steep, water is actually wet, etc. These tend to be the kids who have the hardest time, for example, on a field trip doing a moderate amount of walking. This carries over into their schoolwork, where they often have a hard time persisting without the constant rewards and entertainment built into video games. My general observation, both from the classroom and from my own kids' friends and neighbors, is that more than an hour or so a day of video game time seems to reduce kids' maturity and competence in general.

Jeremy, could not agree more- well put! I notice that children today don't know how to use their hands as tools. For example, to use pressure to clean a dish or sweep. Part of it is that they lack core muscle strength, and part of it is underdeveloped sensori-motor integration of the world.

They also can't intuit how things work. Recently we had young interns in our office and they could not grasp how the chart needed to be in sequential order. Even if you'd never seen a chart, it's organized in a common sensical way.

Contrast that with kids who've grown up working on a farm or ranch and you'll see a HUGE difference if their skills, sense of responsibility, neatness, sticktoitiveness, etc. Not to mention compassion and organizational abilities.

Aside from the instant gratification and unrealistic reward expectations, I feel it has to do with the virtual world lacking boundaries. Physical, psychological, and social boundaries help kids feel secure and thrive.

One way to limit screen time is to install a parental control app. Soanjo which works for Android does exactly that. Parents can schedule when the internet is on/off on their child's device, be it tablet or phone. Their website and FB page has more details.

hi Kris,
I can't speak to brain imaging regarding reversibility, but in my experience with young adults who quit gaming they see pretty dramatic differences in mood, attention, impulse control, sleep, etc within months (if not weeks, depending on the level of addiction). Tech addiction that starts at an early age (esp before puberty) is going to affect the brain more severely. Some changes may be permanent, hence the concern, but I suspect much of it is reversible especially with longer periods of abstinence.

We don't know for sure yet how much is permanent vs reversible, it probably depends on what age you started. That said, I've seen dramatic changes in young adults who quit, suggesting that the brain is healing. So my best guess is that a significant portion is reversible, especially with sustained abstinence.

Try quitting for 4 weeks as an experiment and see what changes you see in terms of your focus, mood, anxiety, sleep, interests, ability to relate to others, etc.

If you aim for 2 hours or less of screen-time a day you'll eliminate most or all of the the risk (assuming no other risk factors).

The more time you spend being screen-free the greater the investment in your brain--especially when you're young. I always suggest to people to do a 3-4 week electronic fast to reset the brain and to form new habits. Trying to simply "moderate" does not work in young people in my experience, without doing the fast first.

Were most of these are studies conducted in China? There are pretty heavy efforts against "internet addiction" there. I would be highly cautious with regard to the potential bias of these studies. I would also be cautious with regard to causality in these studies.

I agree, especially about causality. Were the studies conducted before and after the kids were introduced to screens? Maybe kids with those issues in their brain are more likely to be drawn to screen time. Someone read the studies for me so I don't have to, ha ha. Wouldn't want to increase my screen time :-)

I imagine it would be very hard to find screen addicts no longer "using," but it would be interesting to learn whether the changes brought about by excessive screen use can be reversed by drastically reducing screen time.

you reference webside Neil Cherry he says "Electromagnetic fields and radiation damage DNA and enhance cell death rates and therefore they are a Ubiquitous Universal Genotoxic Carcinogen that enhances the rates of Cancer, Cardiac, Reproductive and Neurological disease and mortality in human populations. Therefore there is no safe threshold level. The only safe exposure level is zero, a position confirmed by dose-response trends in epidemiological studies" zero so you all who belive in this must move to another planet because in earth you cant find place where radiation do not occurs.

…Therefore there is no safe threshold level. The only safe exposure level is zero, a position confirmed by dose-response trends in epidemiological studies” zero SO YOU ALL WHO BELIVE IN THIS MUST MOVE TO ANOTHER PLANET BECAUSE IN EARTH YOU CANT FIND PLACE WHERE RADIATION DO NOT OCCURS.[/quote]

This is not true regarding the EMF Neil speaks to. Otherwise, radiotelescopes would not work properly. Even a leaky microwave oven in the breakroom of an observatory will throw them off. Thus the most sensitive must be located in “EMF clean” areas.

Furthermore, one can use Faraday cloth like wall paper to create a “Faraday room” in one’s home if one desires to be 100% free of EMF. A quick search on google produced both wallpaper and paint that will provide one with a Faraday cage effect. (http://www.lessemf.com/paint.html)

That's a very good point. From my own experience, you can see dramatic improvements with abstinence/drastic reduction in short period of time (weeks to months) but, as with damage from substance abuse, healing may take place for months to years, and perhaps some of the damage is permanent due to developmental windows being lost.

The interesting thing that I see when a child or teen is screen-free for prolonged period is that the frontal lobe seems to mature in leaps and bounds, as if it's been liberated. Since we're not dealing with an actual chemical irritating the brain (vs alcohol or drugs), the recovery may be quicker and more complete.

A lot probably depends on how much/how long exposure there has been, plus how healthy other aspects of the individual's environment are.

I clicked on the first study you used to support your contention that gaming reduces gray matter and was surprised to see that the study suggested just the opposite: teens with reduced gray matter were more likely to become gaming addicts. I hope the rest of your citations are not similarly misleading.

There was no "become" gaming addicts in this study, the study looked at brains of addicts vs. non-addicts (not before and after). It is likely that brains of addicts are different than non-addicts to begin with, but this study is simply acknowledges that there are gray matter differences that might explain the pathenogenesis of the addiction; ie what perpetuates it, and how might these changes explain what symptoms and psychiatric symptoms we see in gaming addiction.

In gaming and internet addiction research in general, the chicken and egg question is a legitimate one, but research suggests there are bidirectional influences that create a vicious cycle. In other words, vulnerable brains are more vulnerable to screen addiction, and then the addiction contributes to psychiatric pathology, which worsens the addiction, etc etc.

You're right. This is clearly an article that began with a clickable premise ("screen time is bad for your brain") and went searching for studies that could be cited, whether or not they actually supported the premise.

You are not neurologist so that way such incompetent article. If this will be true we will hear about that more time. Second brain contanly change one doctor very good explain this "However, imaging neuroscientist Karl Friston who helped pioneer the VBM technique, speaking to Scientific American, says gray matter shrinkage is not necessarily a bad thing. “The effect is quite extreme, but it’s not surprising when you think of the brain as a muscle,” says Friston, who was not involved in the study. “Our brains grow wildly until our early teens, then we start pruning and toning areas to work more efficiently. So these areas may just be relevant to being a good online gamer, and were optimized for that.”
Read more at http://www.realfarmacy.com/farmvillebrain-damage/#KIqXdVkgfRGziuKm.99"
what interesting the most study are from china where government want people work not sitting front of computer
http://boingboing.net/2007/10/18/radio-show-about-gam.html

http://thesciencebit.net/2012/01/21/its-official-internet-overuse-causes-brain-damage-oh-wait-no-it-doesnt/
You wrote "From my own experience, you can see dramatic improvements with abstinence/drastic reduction" this all paranoia about Internet was 0.5 to 1 year. it seems cuting off internet cause in you delayed reactions

I have experience with screen time. Trust me it can REALLY mess you up. Its been stressing my brain and body somehow for many years, and i got alot of different symptoms. My nervous system became hyper aroused, I wasnt able to relax it. I got light and sound sensitivity. I got metabolic problems, my body got more and more problems handling sugar. I got mental issus. Bad judgement. Racing toughts. Impulsive actions. Starting to get sleep dissorders. My hormone system was more messed up, my temperature at nights was very warm. I got more sweathy before. Got tension in the whole body, jaw, neck, head, stumach legs. Muscle were and locked itself. I couldnt do like 2-3 deadlifts because the muscular was so tense it just locked itself. Same with situps my neck locked itself. I started getting anxiety problems. And the sickest thing is that you cant understand how much it has messed you up, untill you stop for a long time. I realised what had happened and reduced screen time to an avarge of around 30 min a day, had to push myself to go outside in nature, bicycle camly, rest and sleep alot, deep breathing, listening to relaxing music etc. All this symptoms are simuluar to chronic fatigue syndrome.It took my around 6 monhts with alot of effort untill I could feel the change in the physiologi, anxiety problems started to fade more and more, racing toughts got more calmer etc, but still i was fared stressed out. Now I have continued for 2 years and 3 months, and im still not recovered. But things are getting better and better if i continue reducing stress from screen time. Also 6-7 year old injuries in my ancle, hips and shoulder are starting to heal more and more after quitting screen time. I couldnt play soccer for 6-7 years becose of an ancle injury that i got when i was around 20 years old. Iv spent 6 years old trying to fix it. And when i quit screen time, tension and stress reduces from the body and now the ancle is healing more and more so i can play soccer again. This is WAY more health damaging that i could ever imagine. All the symptoms i get are simular to chronic fatige syndrom symptoms. We are not ment to stare at a screen for many hours a day. We need the natural light from outside, from the sun. And the air outside and nature. For example people who practice sungazing reports that the light from the sun heals the mind and the body and reduces stress and tension. http://solarhealing.com/sungazing/

And computer do it ;) for sure. In past years everything what you wrote was blaming tv. Of course when you sit at screen you eat super healthy exercises dont you.? You know im using internet 10-12h per day almost 10 years (of course i take break to exercises) eat healthy and dont have any of this symptoms. All what you wrote is by to much sitting even if you will be dont use internet you will be get this. Look at Japanese they almost sleep with the computers and dont have such problem. Sun you need for produce vitamin D, dont forgot about radiation from sun 1h at sun give you UV = one year from screen. About me i have med. screen and my result are great good blood sugar, pressure mental health great. When you reduce your screen time you start move and eat healthy and you have your answer. I really hate when people for their mistakes blaming everything but not himself.

Iv been excercicing regulary 2 hours a day on average, and been competing in road bike races. And iv been eating very health since my body had hard to process sugar and i didnt feel good when I ate it. I probally sat around whats average 7 hours a day I still got these symptons, then realized what has happened and quit. 6 months after i could feel the change in the physiology my body could handle food and sugar much better. Iv never been eating more sugar and chocolate in my life than i do now. I eat it when im out bicycling to get energy, and drinking chocolate drinks after exercicing. Of course it not good to sit still all the time and eat unhealthy, but there are many studies that shows links between screen time and mental health issues, adhd, attention dissorders, metabolic syndrome independent of physical activity etc.

Also the effects can happen so hidden. It can damage you without you knowing it, then things get worse and worse over shorter periods of time. People are so addicted to so they continue using screen time to feel better and to have something to do, wich only makes the stress disease worse. So from getting fructose intolorance they get worse and worse problems handling food fructose malabsortion. Some people could be more sensitive to screens also.
And since you build up stress slowly without knowing it, maybe if you continue for 10 more years you get problems in the future.

Of course it not good to sit still all the time and eat unhealthy, but there are many studies that shows links between screen time and mental health issues, adhd, attention dissorders, metabolic syndrome independent of physical activity etc. " metabolic syndrome independent of physical activity etc. " really? show me this study. Rest what you saying are been studing in gamblers and shows that people with this symptoms are more prone to be addicted rather than get this problem from addiction. Also you see what you wrote ? Got tension in the whole body, jaw, neck, head, stumach legs. Muscle were and locked itself. I couldnt do like 2-3 deadlifts because the muscular was so tense it just locked itself. had to push myself to go outside in nature, bicycle camly, rest and sleep alot. In second comment you wrote something opposit.
Iv been excercicing regulary 2 hours a day on average, and been competing in road bike races. So tell me you cant do sitsup or deadlifts and now you saying you exercise 2h a day.... also cant jogging "old injuries in my ancle, hips and shoulder." Also all symptoms you say are over eating suga. Also explain me " build up stress slowly" what stress? always new tech is scary like blaming car plane and tv for evrything now is just a myth. Second all study about Internet are from China look at their recovery camps. China goverment censorship internet and all studies. About limitations of this studies look here http://thesciencebit.net/2012/01/21/its-official-internet-overuse-causes-brain-damage-oh-wait-no-it-doesnt/. What more your all symptoms are similar to those arising from bad posture and to much sitting.
drinking chocolate drinks good for you you think sugar dont mess with your brain?

I'm not sure I fully understand all of your points, but there are several studies suggesting screen-time i s linked to metabolic syndrome regardless of physical activity; here is one study:
http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/30/2/153.short

If you read my other posts on screens & metabolic syndrome, screens & the stress response, and screens & obesity you'll find numerous references at end of each article:

And yes, completely agree that sitting and eating sugar rich foods are part of the equation that create vicious cycles. But the screen itself also induces various physiological responses from the subcellular and molecular levels to the hormonal and organ system levels.

Not screening but sitting this is reason A lack of physical activity is one of the leading causes of preventable death worldwide.[5]
Sitting still may cause premature death. The risk is higher among those that sit still more than 5 hours per day. It is shown to be a risk factor on its own independent of hard exercise and BMI. The more still, the higher risk of chronic diseases. People that sit still more than 4 hours per day have a 40 percent higher risk than those that sit fewer than 4 hours per day. However, those that exercise at least 4 hours per week are as healthy as those that sit fewer than 4 hours per day. Best way is break after 1h sitting and streching for 2-3 min.

But the screen itself also induces various physiological responses from the subcellular and molecular levels to the hormonal and organ system levels. like everything when you drink water eat meal even talk with other you induces physiological responses. When someone say this change your brain so i ask what dont change? all our action change brain activity.

P,S Screens and the Stress Response this is totaly flawed look at this studies limitation. Exposure to EMFs (electromagnetic fields) from cell tower is associated with perceptual speed increase and accuracy decrease (consistent with fight or flight response), and sleep problems are you serious? first other studies dont find corelation, second even if Antenas are outside.
Retina study limitation is that the study design is cross-sectional and does not provide temporal information on the associations also we cannot exclude the possibility of residual confounding, although we have attempted to adjust for several confounders; it is outside the scope of this analysis to adjust for social and dietary factors

Attention impaired via stress hormones norepinephrine and cortisol following psychological stress (video game used as stressor

I could bicycle and compete untill the body got to messed up. There was a period for 6 months - 1 year or something where things went over the top. It was really bad after that period. Thats when i stopped screen time, and started sleeping and relaxing 15-20 hours a day instead. And the rest i spent outside walking, and bicycling slwoly with alot of deep breathing to try to relax the nervous system it was really really bad, trust me. For 2 years i didnt compete. I had my first road bike race in 2 years one week ago. I still havent had my first hard intervall workout session for over 2 years, but things are starting to get so good that I think im able to do it during this summer. Trust me out of experience this can be really bad. Somehow it stresses the brain and body. I dont know why, i just know that you get alot of different symptoms that are simular to chronic fatigue symptoms, and if you continue things get worse and worse. If i had continue using screens, I would have gotten way more messed up. Racing toughts would have been worse, metabolic problems would have gotten worse, depression would have gotten worse, nervous system would have gotten more aroused, I had tension from my toes out my eyes, my testicles, legs, arms, stumach. All this tension and aroused nervous system isnt something i just got from sitting still in front of a screen. I had to lay down still without the screens to try to relax it.I just know that screen time has exploded not so many years ago, and chldren are starting at younger ages, this could get really bad for many people in the future.

One your link show only say about impact of to much sitting second at brain development. Brain developments is period when your brain programe people who learn playing for example in piano have more grey matter in auditory cortex, our brain dont damage from that but adapt to situation you can call this evolution look at http://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games. Second about tv the most what say that lower iq you know why because children spend time wathing and they dont study in this time. What more i read a all study about internet and the alteration of brain region is most prefrontal cortex any of your symptoms are not related to this area whats more there are studies showing better moto-sensory coordination. In your case probably you get this from other source or hearing about that somwhere and get placebo effect. You know using computer are from older generation people who know have 30-40 years and we dont have any epidemic. http://mindmaps.wikispaces.com/TV+rots+your+brain.
http://valueofsimple.com/addiction-myths-part-one/
http://www.debaird.net/blendededunet/2014/02/tess-explains-it-all-teens-social-media-and-the-myth-of-internet-addiction.html
I can give you know links to true studies but look at all of studies showing negative brain change even one cant be replicated they dont even publish conflict results.
P.S on your other comment i will response tomorrow.

sorry for your problem but with no any proof all brain changes studies shows area that are not associated with your symptoms so its mean youdont have any proof you problem can be due to many things. This is call quackery that way we have so many medical myth self diagnoses from person who dont have idea about brain. Im sure you will understand my point in the future how many time need how long people use Tv and video games internet and dont have any problem also all studies shows that people with internet have brain difrent but any shows that this is cause by internet. "I tried to use f.lux, and I turned down the lights on the screen completely. I also used sunglasses when looking at the screen. But still it didnt have enough effect to help me" isnt this is proof that this is not a cause you use program sunglasses to filter blue light with no effect conclusion? there is no corelation I look for manys studies about that i loves neurology and i use internet without addiction symptoms. Read about chines studies problems http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/28/us-science-china-idUSBRE84R06G20120528
"But China's scientific progress is no sure thing. Interviews with Chinese scientists working in the West together with data from the OECD and some of the world's leading science academies suggest restrictive political and cultural attitudes continue to stifle science there."
If you will have real scientific evidence (good conducted study. showing that internet cause this alteration and they are negative.) wrote. For now you are another person who claims something without proof

Its true its dangerous to look at the sun atleest in the middle of the day. The people who practice this is gazing in a 1 hour window from when the sun comes up and goes down where the UV is low. Starting 10 seconds on day 1 and adds 10 seconds every day. Im just saying that they report that its healing the mind and the body, and release tension. Its natural to stay outside and get natural lights on the eyes even tho you dont look at the sun. It controls or sleep rythms the light and the darkness.

The artificial lights from the screens break down melatonine wich is a hormon released when it gets dark and you get sleepy. Its a powerful antioxidant that cleans the body. The screens puts the hormone system out of balance. Thats probally why i got warmer at nights because serotonine controls body temperature. It also controls mood etc. After i reduced the screen time for 30 min a day for 6 monhts i alos felt my temperatur beeing more normal at nights and its even better now over 2 years after.

First for that is many solution blue light filters or programs like f.lux i not only say is dangerous to look at the sun but also placebo effect even one study confirm this method have some health benefits another earning money method.

I tried to use f.lux, and I turned down the lights on the screen completely. I also used sunglasses when looking at the screen. But still it didnt have enough effect to help me, I had to stop look at screens to reduce stress. Its something you would have understand if you have been through what iv been through.

Most of my friends are gamers, and they also spend considerable time on the internet, and I can see that half of them are top of the class, and half of them aren't too birght.
The one who spends almost all of their free time in these activities is literally the best in the grade.
Most of us don't seem too keen in our social skills but are able to imitate them very well, I personally cannot find many negative effects ( with an exception of an easier loss of attention) to spending lots of time interacting with electronic devices

It is not the screen addition that is causing these things. At least for me it seems to make a lot more sense that this is caused by people not having a chance to have social encounters while having this addiction.

Point is, you can be addicted to cleaning up your basement and if you spent the same amount of time people generally spent behind a screen, I guarantee you will have the same thing happening in your brain.

Why are computer scientists some of the most intelligent people when they are looking at screens all day every day?

This is exactly what I was thinking.

Quite apart from that though, how can an electronic fast be at all practical for many people (besides computer professionals) who simply cannot avoid the use of computers for performing tasks directly related to their employment?

Also, how is this assumption or theory about adverse effects of screen time affect research proven computer based working memory training called i9 Mindware developed at Carnegie-Melon University?